| Only since the early 1900's has the US
government become active in regulating the environment. For the
early part of American history the government encouraged
economic growth and development, oftentimes at the expense of
the nation's environment. As industry grew unregulated and the
scope and scale of the environmental degradation grew, did the
government move to intervene, creating new agencies and laws to
regulate and protect.
Regulatory Agencies
The Federal Government has several agencies whose role
it is to regulate and oversee some aspect of the nation's
diverse environmental concerns.
|
Government Agency |
Main Regulatory
Role |
US Department of the Interior
|
In 1849 Congress
created the Department of the Interior to take charge of
the Nation's internal affairs.
The Interior Department has a wide range of
responsibilities entrusted to it, including maintaining
the health of federally managed lands, waters,
and renewable resources. Among the agencies roles
is to oversee use of Federal Lands for commercial purposes
(ex. logging, mining), maintaining
federal parks lands, protection of endangered
species or threatened species and habitat,
maintain and transfer federally overseen Native
American reservation lands to tribal control and
enforcement of federal laws governing land usage and
resource conservation. |
Environmental
Protection Agency
|
In 1970, then President Richard Nixon
and Congress worked together to establish the EPA,
responding to growing public demand for cleaner water, air
and land. Prior to the creation of the EPA the government
had no concerted way to regulate and oversee the
environmental impact of industrial pollution/emissions.
The EPA has been charged with setting national
standards for emissions and pollutants,
issuing permits, overseeing cleanup efforts
for past pollution damage and works with industry to curb
pollution through voluntary pollution control
efforts and energy conservation efforts. |
|
NYS
Department of Environmental Conservation |
The NYSDEC acts on a statewide level, much
as the EPA acts on a federal level. The agency oversees
the state's response to environmental pollution or
chemical spills, manages costal lands and
water usage, administers wildlife protection
and management, manages state parklands (including
the Adirondack Park) and monitors environmental
conditions with New York State. |
US Department
of Agriculture:
US Forest Service
|
From the US Forest Service mission
statement: Established in 1905, the Forest Service
is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The Forest Service manages public lands in
national forests and grasslands.
Gifford Pinchot, the first Chief of the Forest
Service, summed up the mission of the Forest Service — "to
provide the greatest amount of good for the greatest
amount of people in the long run."
National forests and grasslands encompass
191 million acres of land, which is an area
equivalent to the size of Texas. |
US Department
of Energy
|
The U.S. Department of Energy was
directed in 1982 to develop and manage a Federal
system for disposing of spent nuclear fuel from
commercial nuclear reactors and atomic energy defense
activities. These waste management facilities must be
licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC).
In 1987 the DOE began a program focused on
Yucca Mountain, Nevada as a central storage site
for the disposal of the nation's spent nuclear fuel
and radioactive waste.
|
Significant Regulations
There are literally thousands of individual laws
regulating the environment, pollution as well as land and
resource usage within the United States. The chart below is a
sampling of the most significant federal regulatory initiatives.
|
Law /
Regulation |
Requirements /
Impact |
|
Clean Air Act (1970) |
The Clean Air Act regulates air
emissions from industry, automobiles and
any other source. This law authorizes the EPA to establish
air quality standards, in order to protect public
health and the environment.
The Act was amended in 1977 primarily to set new goals
(dates) for achieving attainment of air quality standards
since many areas failed to meet the requirements (ex. auto
emissions in Southern California).
Other additions to the Clean Air Act addressed problems
such as acid rain, ozone levels as well as
ozone layer depletion. |
|
Endangered Species Act
(1973) |
The Endangered Species Act provides a
program for the conservation of threatened or endangered
plants and animals as well as the natural habitats in
which they are found. Species can include birds, insects,
fish, reptiles, mammals, crustaceans,
flowers, grasses and
trees. The list of threatened or endangered species is
managed by the US Fish and Wildlife service, a division of
the Department of the Interior. |
|
Clean Water Act (1977) |
In 1972 and 1977 the federal government
enacted the Clean Water Act(s), giving the EPA
the power to set wastewater standards for industry.
The law makes it illegal for any person or industry to
contaminate ground water or running water.
The act also allocated monies to assist in the
construction of sewage treatment plants and fund
groundwater clean-up efforts. |
|
Superfund
Reauthorization Act (1986) |
The "Superfund" legislation
provides for the clean up of abandoned hazardous waste
sites as well as contaminating accidents, spills
and other pollution related emergencies. The EPA
was given power to prosecute the companies responsible for
the contamination and force them to assist in the cleanup.
The Superfund also pays for the cleaning of sites for
which no responsible party can be identified or whom no
longer exist. |
|
Pollution Prevention Act
(1990) |
The 1990 Pollution Prevention Act
is designed to reduce emissions by industry into
the environment, there by reducing the need for pollution
clean-up efforts later on. The legislation required
increased efficiency in energy, water and resource
use, reduction in smoke-stack emissions from
coal-fired power plants as well as industry recycling
efforts as well as sustainable agriculture and more. |
|
